1,600 Municipal Leaders Meet in Ottawa for the 2012 AMO Conference

OTTAWA, Aug. 20, 2012 /CNW/ - The Association of Municipalities of Ontario's 2012 AMO Conference kicked-off in the nation's capital today.

More than 1,600 conference delegates from across Ontario are participating in close to 50 plenary sessions and workshops over the three-day event. The broad scope of the conference reflects the wide range of programs and services delivered by Ontario's municipalities.

Premier Dalton McGuinty addressed delegates this afternoon. There were no surprises from the Premier as he reaffirmed his government's commitment to honour its 2008 upload agreement with municipalities. He also repeated his government's latest infrastructure news. On Thursday, August 16, Ontario launched the first phase of its Municipal Infrastructure Strategy. It includes a transfer of $60 million over three years to municipalities for municipal asset management planning and critical repairs.

"Ontario is only as strong as its communities, and AMO works to make sure Ontario's communities are as strong as possible," said AMO President Gary McNamara. "The Association's top priority is to make sure the Ontario Government honours the upload agreement that it signed in 2008. It's essential that Ontario follows through on its promise so that municipalities can make prudent, long-term financial plans."

Highlights of today's Conference sessions, events and workshops include the official launch of AMO's new website: www.amo.on.ca. All information on AMO's website is now easier to find, use and share.

AMO President Gary McNamara and the Honourable Steven Fletcher, Canada's Minister of State for Transport presented three AMO Gas Tax Awards. Award winners include the Municipality of Wawa for its rooftop solar panel project and the City of Mississauga for its fleet of accessible transit vehicles. The City of Cambridge received a Gas Tax Capacity Building Award for its research for Asset Management.

Conference highlights for Tuesday, August 21 include:

• 8:30 a.m. - Tim Hudak, Leader, Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
• 8:50 a.m. - Keynote address from Michael Adams, President, Environics
• 9:50 a.m. - Andrea Horwath, Leader, New Democratic Party of Ontario
• 3:45 p.m. - The Honourable Kathleen Wynne, Minister, Municipal Affairs and Housing
• 4:00 p.m. - Ontario Government Ministers and Parliamentary Assistants attend an open session to answer questions from municipal delegates

The Conference program can be downloaded at www.amo.on.ca. Reporters and delegates can build a personalized conference itinerary and access key conference information through AMOmobile - the Association's free mobile app.

AMO is a non-profit organization representing almost all of Ontario's 444 municipal governments. AMO supports strong and effective municipal government in Ontario and promotes the value of municipal government as a vital and essential component of Ontario and Canada's political system.

SOURCE: Association of Municipalities of Ontario

Brian Lambie, AMO Media Contact:
Phone: [phone] Email: [email protected]